Inspector (Ag.) Lavon Sobers was the Most Outstanding during the Court Prosecutors’ Course. He accepts the trophy from Anthony Blackman, Principal Crown Council with the Department of Public Prosecution and Magistrate in charge of the moot court session.
Graduates of the Court Prosecutors’ Course and Enhanced Constables’ Development Course have been told to be on the cutting edge of knowledge at all times.
That advice comes from Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ag.) with the Royal Barbados Police Force, Erwin Boyce, who addressed the joint Closing Ceremony for both courses on Friday at the Regional Police Training Centre.
He stated that crime is changing, not only locally but regionally and internationally, and “it has become more complex and indeed difficult to predict”. He therefore urged graduates to continually expand their knowledge especially in the area of technology.
“I would want you not only to read your files, because reading files are essential, but also to expand your knowledge, especially in the area of digital application. I want you to get familiar with terms in the digital world.”
The Assistant Commissioner also encouraged the participants drawn from Anguilla, Commonwealth of Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Christopher & Nevis and locally “to make the difference in your organisation, and not simply to be controversial or disruptive, because you have attended a course and you think you know everything, but be a positive force for change”.
Boyce additionally encouraged the graduates to be the best that they can be, to understand the core values and what their organisation stands for, and to remember that their selection to participate in the course is an investment “and in any investment there must be a return. Demonstrate that investment in a tangible way. Let there be sound returns”.
Meanwhile, speaking directly to the local and regional police officers, he urged them “wherever you go, whatever you do, let it be shown that you are a police officer of worth”. To the junior ranks who took the course, he called on them to be active thinkers.
“To the juniors here today, I reiterate to you that policing is dynamic and calls for very active thinkers. No longer can you just follow the instructions in the general standing orders.
“Yes, they are there to guide you, provide that impetus for your response, but now you must go beyond that and you must start to think on your feet, because you are in fact a substantial decision maker in the force in terms of your deliverables. You make the decisions at your level, not withstanding whatever briefing you would have. So I urge you to be thinkers.” (MG)